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Unhappiness in Galatia 1

October 17, 2010

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THD-011 and 012Resuming our Galatians

2002 Study....



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“Blessed [happy] are theythat hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28)



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Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Rom. 11:6, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace."

Gal. 2:21, “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”



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Gal. 3:24, "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith."

1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.'

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."



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I am come that they mighthave life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John10:10

Peter 1:2-3 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that [pertain] unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue...



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I am come that they mighthave life, and that they might have it more

abundantly. John10:10



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“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” – John 15:9-11 ESV



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Galatians 4:15 What has happened to all your joy?



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Galatians 4:1515 Where then is that sense of blessing you had?

You were so happy! What has happened? is literally “Where is your happiness?” or “… your blessedness?” The question is rhetorical and implies that when Paul was asking the question the Galatians no longer felt the same way they did when he was with them. This is made clear in TEV and other modern translations (RSV “what has become of the satisfaction you felt?”; JB “what has become of this enthusiasm you had?”; NAB “what has happened to your openhearted spirit?”).



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Verse fifteen. The word blessedness is from makarios (µακαριος) which in secular Greek means prosperous, and which indicates that the makarios (µακαριος) person is in a state of prosperity. He asks, Where is that prosperous condition now?



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Let's look back from Chapter 4 verse 15 to see if we can learn just where their "Joy went."

Let's back it up to where we left off in our study of Galatians back in 2002:

Galatians 3:1You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you,



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In chapter 3, Paul gives six points to show the Galatians the superiority of grace over law. (1) By grace, salvation and the Holy Spirit are given. (2) Abraham, the father of our people, was saved by grace. (3) Grace gives redemption and salvation; the law brings condemnation. (4) Abraham was saved by grace hundreds of years before the law was given. (5) The law’s purpose is to act as a guide that leads us to Christ. (6) By grace a love relationship with God and one another is obtained.



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The tone of the whole verse—and of the whole section, for that matter—is one of unbelief. It is unthinkable to Paul that the Galatians have changed so quickly. The only explanation possible is that they have gone out of their minds!Foolish (NAB “senseless,” NEB “stupid,” JB “mad”) puts the emphasis not on natural stupidity but on failure to use one’s mental and spiritual powers.



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It may be necessary, therefore, to say in some languages “You Galatians are not thinking right,” or “… not using your minds as you should.” In some languages the meaning of foolish is expressed idiomatically, for example, “you have lost your heads,” “your minds have left you,” or “your heads are empty.”

Or, "What are you thinking!"



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Who put a spell on you? (literally, “who has bewitched you?”) is a rhetorical question, and the “who” probably refers to the same [Judaizers] spoken of in 1:7. The word “bewitched” itself suggests the use of magic, particularly the casting of a spell through the use of the evil eye. The belief that one person could cast a spell over another is common in many parts of the world, but one must not deduce from this statement that Paul believed in magic. He is more likely using “bewitched” in a metaphorical sense, and he probably means by it “to pervert,” “to lead astray,” or “to confuse the mind.”

Or, to bring out the drug aspect of pharmakia: "What are you smokin"!



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Before your very eyes ... The whole expression is metaphorical and describes the familiar practice of making public announcements by means of bills or posters. In this case the announcement is “the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.”The final sentence in this verse is related to the reason for Paul’s having concluded that the Galatians had been bewitched.It may be important to indicate this connection by rendering the final sentence as “How could this have happened, since before your very eyes you had a clear description …?”



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Since it was Paul himself who had described the death of Jesus Christ, it may be better to say “since I described to you so clearly how Jesus Christ died on the cross.”The words set forth are from prographo (προγραφο). It is the usual word speaking of the act of posting up public announcements or notices. The word is found in early secular documents where a father posted a proclamation that he would no longer be responsible for his son’s debts. It does not here speak of the act of painting the crucified Christ on a placard for public notice, but of posting a public announcement to the effect that He was crucified.



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This Paul did in his preaching among the Galatians. This placarded notice of the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus should have been enough to keep the eyes of the Galatians from wandering to the enticements of the Judaizers.The word crucified is in the perfect tense. This speaks of the fact that the apostle is not speaking of the figure of a dead Christ on a crucifix, but of the risen, ascended Christ who had been crucified.-Wuest

Paul is direct and stern as he calls the Galatians foolish. They had fallen under the bewitching, deceptive spell of the Judaizers. They accepted a message that implied the death of Christ was insufficient. - Holman



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Galatians 3:1 Translation. O, unreflecting Galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was placarded publicly as the Crucified One? - Wuest

Galatians 3:1



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2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

Paul, in verses 2–5, asks four rhetorical questions to demonstrate that salvation is through faith alone. These questions concern the reception and work of the Holy Spirit. - Holman

Note that Paul appeals to their SPIRITUAL LIVES as an argument for Grace.Surely their Spiritual Lives were vibrant and a source of their Happiness.



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Verse two. We have here a forcible appeal to the experience of the Galatians. By the use of the word now, Paul indicates that an answer to the question about to be asked, would be a decisive argument. It is as if Paul said, “I will convince you of your error by this one argument.” By the receiving of the Spirit, Paul means the initial entrance of the Holy Spirit into their [spirit] when they put their trust in the Lord Jesus.The words “by the hearing of faith,” are from ex akoes pisteos (ἐξ ἀκοες πιστεος).



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The word akoes (ἀκοες) translated hearing refers either to the act of hearing a message, or to the message that is heard [Doctrine]. The second meaning agrees more with the context since Paul is contrasting his message of grace with the preachments of the Judaizers.The phrase of faith defines or describes the message. It is a message that announces faith as the means whereby one receives salvation. The only answer the Galatians could give to this question was that they received the Spirit, not by obedience to the law, but through their faith in Paul’s message of grace.Translation. This only am I desiring to learn from you. By means of law works did you receive the Spirit or by means of the message which proclaims faith?



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Verse three. In verse 2, Paul speaks of the initial entrance of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of the Galatian Christians when they put their trust in the Lord Jesus. In this verse, he is speaking of the sanctifying work of the Spirit in the lives of these saints. He asks the question, “Are you to such a degree irrational? Having begun your Christian life in dependence upon the indwelling Spirit, are you now being brought on to the state of spiritual maturity by means of self effort?”The words made perfect are from epiteleo (ἐπιτελεο) which means “to bring something to the place where it is complete.” The cognate noun is the word Paul uses when he speaks of a spiritually mature Christian, one who is living a well-rounded, well-balanced, mature life.



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By the word flesh here he refers to all that a person is as the product of natural generation apart from the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. The word speaks of the unsaved man, body and soul, controlled by his totally depraved nature, together with all his human accomplishments, positions, capabilities, and philosophies.



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The Judaizers in preaching a message of law obedience to the Galatian Christians, caused these latter to abandon the position of grace and put themselves in the sphere of law, both that of the Judaizers’ system of legalism, and that of the Old Testament economy. Because there was no provision in the Mosaic economy for an indwelling Spirit who would sanctify the believer as that believer trusted Him for that work, the Galatians were turning away from the teaching and the reality of the ministry of the Spirit in the life of the believer in this dispensation of grace, and were starting to depend upon self effort in an attempt to obey an outward legalistic system of works.



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Thus these Christians who had begun their Christian lives in dependence upon the Holy Spirit, now were depending upon self effort to continue in them the work of sanctification which the Holy Spirit had begun. The present tense of the verb here indicates that the Galatians had already begun this attempt. Paul says in effect, “How foolish to think that you can bring yourselves to a state of spiritual maturity in your Christian lives. That is the work of the Spirit. Only He can do that for you.”



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Holman says it this way:Are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? Paul declares them foolish for having begun the Christian life by faith but trying to reach maturity through human effort. Since there was no way under the law for the Holy Spirit to sanctify, the Judaizers promoted the only means to maturity they knew: obedience to the law



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For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. {3} For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, {4} that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.(Romans 8:2-4 NKJV)



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Happiness - Divine Viewpoint

2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.



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Galatians 3:3 Translation. Are you so unreflecting? Having begun by means of the Spirit, now are you being brought to maturity by the flesh?

Galatians 3:3



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4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

5 So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?



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Verse four. This verse speaks of the sufferings which the Galatian saints went through as a result of having received the Lord Jesus as Saviour. The only record of any persecutions in the Galatian cities is in Acts 14:2, 5, 19, 22. We are left somewhat in the dark regarding these sufferings, their nature and extent. Paul appeals to the Galatians not to let these sufferings be in vain by turning their backs on grace and putting themselves under the legalistic system of the Judaizers. The construction in the Greek text gives the idea, “If it really be in vain.” It leaves a loophole for doubt in the apostle’s mind that the Galatians really were swinging away from grace to law. It implies an unwillingness on his part to believe this.



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GALATIANS 3:4 Translation. So many things did you suffer in vain? If indeed they really were in vain?

GALATIANS 3:4



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Verse five. The word therefore continues the thought of verses 2 and 3 which is further emphasized. In verse 2, Paul is speaking of the initial entrance of the Spirit into the hearts al the Galatians at the moment they placed their faith in the Lord Jesus. In verse 3, he refers to the sanctifying work of the Spirit in the believer’s life. In this verse, the subject of the charismatic manifestations of the Spirit is introduced, namely, the act of the Holy Spirit in enduing certain members of the Galatian churches with special gifts of the Spirit. All these Paul brings to bear upon his contention that the grace way of salvation must be God’s way since it is accompanied by the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit.



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The construction in the Greek requires us to understand that the One who ministered the Spirit to the Galatians is the same Person who worked miracles among them, namely, God the Father. The word ministereth is from epichoregeo (ἐπιχορεγεο) which mean “to supply abundantly or bountifully.” The word miracles is from dunamis (δυναµις), used in I Corinthians 12:10 (miracles), and it II Corinthians 12:12 (wonders). In each place, the reference is to the Holy Spirit conferring miracle-working power upon certain members of the early Church. In the view of Paul, it was the same Spirit who was performing His work of sanctification in the lives of the Galatian saints, who was also bestowing miraculous powers upon them.



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The present tense of the participles here informs us that the work of the Holy Spirit in both respects was continually going on in the Galatian churches, even at the time of the inroad of the Judaizers, although His work was being hindered by the act of the Galatians slowly turning away from His ministrations and depending instead upon self effort. The point however is that these Galatians still had the attesting power of the miracles among them, proving that grace and not works was the way of salvation.et in spite of all this irrefutable proof, they were forsaking the place of grace to take their stand under law. Over against all this, the Judaizers had nothing as an evidence that their message was from God.



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Galatians 3:5 Translation. Therefore, the One who is constantly supplying the Spirit to you in bountiful measure, and constantly working miracles among you, by means of law works is He doing these things, or by means of the message which proclaims faith?

Galatians 3:5



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6 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.

7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.



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The word accounted is from logizomai (λογιζοµαι). It deserves careful study. The word is used in the papyri as a business term: for instance, “put to one’s account; let my revenues be placed on deposit at the storehouse; reckoning the wine to him at 16 drachmae the monochore; a single artabae being reckoned at 180 myriads of denari; I now give orders generally with regard to all payments actually made or credited to the government.”

Thus Abraham believed God, and his act of faith was placed to his account in value as righteousness.



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He believed God and his act of faith was credited to him for righteousness. He believed God and his act of faith was placed on deposit for him and evaluated as righteousness. He believed God and his act of faith was computed as to its value, and there was placed to his account, righteousness. He believed God, and his act of faith was credited to his account for righteousness. Finally, he believed God, and his act of faith was credited to him, resulting in righteousness.



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All this does not mean, however, that Abraham’s act of faith was looked upon as a meritorious action deserving of reward. It was not viewed as a good work by God and rewarded by the bestowal of righteousness. That would be salvation by works. But the fact that Abraham cast off all dependence upon good works as a means of finding acceptance with God, and accepted God’s way of bestowing salvation, was answered by God in giving him that salvation.



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Abraham simply put himself in the place where a righteous God could offer him salvation upon the basis of justice satisfied, and in pure grace. God therefore put righteousness to his account. He evaluated Abraham’s act of faith as that which made it possible for Him to give him salvation.



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The Judaizers pointed to the Law of Moses as the means to salvation. Paul demonstrates that Abraham, who preceded Moses by 430 years, was saved by faith and not self-effort. Quoting Genesis 15:6, Paul states Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. To further discredit the Judaizers’ emphasis on circumcision, Paul noted that Abraham was justified prior to his circumcision (Gen. 17:24). - Holman



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Abraham was justified by faith, not works. Therefore the true children of Abraham are justified in the same way (3:6–9)Verse six. In this DOCTRINAL section (chapters 3 and 4), Paul demonstrates that salvation is by grace and in answer to faith, and not by works. His first proof was based upon the fact that the supernatural ministry of the Spirit which accompanied the act of faith on the part of the Galatians, is a proof that his message of grace was of divine origin, and that the message of the Judaizers which in character was diametrically opposed to it, was of human origin. Now, in these verses, he adduces proof from the fact that Abraham was saved by faith and not by works.



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The occasion for his argument is found in the fact that the Judaizers taught that the natural descendants of Abraham were his children, and thus accepted with God. All of which meant that only the circumcised could be saved. Thus, circumcision was a prerequisite of salvation. This teaching was based on a misapprehension of Genesis 12 and 17. They argued that no one could participate in the blessings of God’s covenant with Abraham, and so in the Messianic salvation which was inseparably connected with it, unless he was circumcised.This corresponds to the way some promote baptism, today.



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Therefore, the Judaizers could not argue that the law and circumcision were necessary for salvation because Abraham was saved apart from both of them.

The mistake they made was in failing to distinguish between the purely Jewish and national covenant God made with Abraham, which had to do with the earthly ministry and destiny of the Chosen People as a channel which God would use in bringing salvation to the earth, and that salvation which came through a descendant of Abraham, the Messiah.



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Circumcision was God’s mark of separation upon the Jew, isolating him in the midst of the Gentile nations, in order that He might use the nation Israel for His own purposes. It had nothing to do with the acceptance of salvation by the Jew.



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We now come to a study of the Greek word translated righteousness, dikaiosune (δικαιοσυνε), and the adjective dikaios (δικαιος), both having the same root. Cremer in his monumental work, Biblico-Theological Lexicon of New Testament Greek, has the following to say on these important words: He says that dikaios (δικαιος) is “what is right, conformable to right, answering to the claims of usage, custom, or right.… The fundamental idea is that of a state or condition conformable to order, apart from the consideration whether usage or custom or other factors determine the order of direction.



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Thus, dikaios (δικαιος) is synonymous with agathos (ἀγαθος) (good) only that dikaios (δικαιος) is a conception of a relation and presupposes a norm, whereas the subject of agathos (ἀγαθος) is its own norm.“As to the import of the conception in a moral sense, there is a decisive difference not to be mistaken between the profane and especially the Greek usage, and the Biblical, and this difference arises, from the different, nay, opposite standards by which it is estimated in the two spheres. - Wuest



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Righteousness in the biblical sense is a condition of rightness the standard of which is God, which is estimated according to the divine standard, which shows itself in behavior conformable to God, and has to do above all thing with its relation to God, and with the walk before Him. It is, and it is called dikaiosune theou (δικαιοσυνε θεου) (righteousness of God) (Rom. 3:21, 1:17), righteousness as it belongs to God, and is of value before Him, Godlike righteousness, see Ephesians 4:24; with this righteousness thus defined, the gospel (Rom. 1:17) comes into the world of nations which had been wont to measure by a different standard.



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Righteousness in the Scripture sense is a thoroughly religious conception, designating the normal relation of men and their acts, etc., to God. Righteousness in the profane mind is a preponderatingly social virtue, only with a certain religious background.… In pagan Greece the dikaios (δικαιος) (righteous) person is he who does not selfishly nor yet self-for-gettingly transgress the bounds fixed for him, and gives to everyone his own, yet still desires what is his, and does not in the least withdraw the assertion of his own claims, a view which Christianity has continually to combat.



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“In its scriptural sense, both in the Old Testament and New Testament, righteousness is the state commanded by God, and standing the test of His judgment (compare II Cor. 3:9), the character and acts of a man approved of Him, in virtue of which the man corresponds with Him and His will as his ideal and standard, compare Ephesians 4:24; or more generally it denotes the sum-total of all that God commands, of all that He appoints.



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As God Himself is thus the standard of this righteousness, it is dikaiosune theou (δικαιοσυνε θεου), a righteousness as it belongs to God or to itself for God, is well pleasing to Him, Godlike righteousness.… Just such a righteousness that ought to be the goal of human effort and desire, St. Paul insists upon as, strictly speaking, the Scripture conception of dikaiosune (δικαιοσυνε) (righteousness), and as the result of the New Testament salvation realized or to be realized in man."



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This righteousness Cremer describes as “a state of the subject who stands God’s judgment, who having fulfilled all obligations, has no guilt to hide.… The righteousness of God is a state called forth by God’s act of justification, namely, by judicial disengagement or release from all that stands in the way of being righteous, a liberation of which man becomes a partaker by means of faith.… We see therefore that the Pauline conception of righteousness—which as to form always expresses a relation to the judgment of God—includes this special feature, namely, it denotes the state of the believing man called forth by the divine acquittal.”



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Justification is the act of God removing from the sinner his guilt and the penalty incurred by that guilt, and bestowing a positive righteousness, Christ Jesus Himself in whom the believer stands, not only innocent and uncondemned, but actually righteous in point of law for time and for eternity. This is what God did for Abraham when he believed Him. This is what the Judaizers were attempting to merit for themselves by their own good works.



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Galatians 3:6 Translation. Just as Abraham believed God, and his act of faith was credited to him, resulting in (his) righteousness.

Galatians 3:6



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7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.

8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.



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Verse seven. The words “know ye,” are not imperative but indicative. “Ye perceive,” is the sense. This verse contains a deduction from the previous verse. The word therefore from ara (ἀρα), is inferential. The argument is, “Since faith was the way Abraham was justified, it follows that those who exercise like faith, are his true followers.” The word faith is here general in its application, indicating the determinative factor in life, as against works as a means of appropriating salvation. The expression “they which are of faith,” refers to those who have exercised faith for salvation, and whose standing and character are consequently determined by that faith.



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The phrase “sons of Abraham,” is not to be understood in a genealogical sense but rather in the ethical sense of the term. Abraham was accepted by God on the basis of faith, and God deals with all men on the same ... basis. God is no respecter of persons. Thus the faith exercised by Abraham is declared to be the fundamental condition of acceptance with God. Children is from huioi (υἱοι), properly sons.



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Galatians 3:7 Translation. Ye perceive, therefore, that those who are of faith these are sons of Abraham.

Galatians 3:7



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8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.”

9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.



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Verse eight. This verse contains Paul’s answer to the false assumption of the Judaizers that inasmuch as it is in Abraham that all nations were to be blessed, they would have to be incorporated in his descendants by the rite of circumcision.By the use of the word and, from de (δε), Paul asserts that the blessing of Abraham, namely, the one he received from God, justification, was received by him through faith, and that it is through the exercise of a like faith that the Gentiles become his spiritual children, and not through submission to circumcision.



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The expression the scripture, usually denotes a particular passage of scripture (see Luke 4:21; II Tim. 3:16). The passage referred to here is Genesis 12:3. Paul attributes foresight to scripture. This is a figure of speech expressing the thought that God’s divine foresight is expressed in the scriptures. The Jews had the formula, “What did the scripture foresee?”Thus God, foreseeing that He would justify the Gentiles by faith announced the gospel to Abraham, which message was to be received by faith.



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The good news announced to Abraham was that some day the Savior would arise out of his nation Israel, and that the Gentiles would be saved through Him as Abraham was saved. Thus, Abraham rejoiced to see the coming of that day (John 8:56). Abraham was therefore to become the pattern to all who would follow, of how a sinner, Jew or Gentile, must appropriate salvation. The words would justify, are from a present tense verb in Greek, the thought being that Paul is here dealing with a general principle, God’s rule of action on the basis of which He operates for all time.



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Thus, the condition upon which any person was to be justified is faith, and this was announced to Abraham before he was circumcised, which means that circumcision had nothing to do with the acceptance of salvation.



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Galatians 3:8 Translation:And the scripture forseeing that on a basis of faith God justifies the Gentiles, announced the gospel beforehand to Abraham, namely, All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.

Galatians 3:8



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9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. Verse nine. This is a definite statement of the proposition which Paul wishes to prove. The emphasis is upon the fact that the believing ones are blessed with salvation, rather than those who depend upon good works as the Judaizers did. The word faithful is added as a descriptive word in order to impress upon the reader that the important thing about Abraham was the fact that he chose the faith way of salvation rather than depend upon personal merit and good works. The word here does not speak of faithfulness of life in the sense of fidelity, but of the fact that Abraham believed God.



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And well might Abraham have depended upon good works, from a purely human standpoint. Excavations in the city of Ur where Abraham lived, reveal the fact that Abraham was not a wild desert sheik, but an educated, wealthy, sophisticated citizen of the world, a man living in and ostensibly partaking of a state of culture and opulence little dreamed of by the person who is unfamiliar with the ancient civilizations of the past. Abraham was no ignoramus with a gullible faith. With all his cultural background, and in spite of it, he saw that much of that with which we have to do, is taken upon faith, including the way of salvation. Those who exercise a like faith to Abraham, share with him in the same salvation which he received from God.



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Galatians 3:9 Translation. So that those who are believing ones are being blessed in company with believing Abraham.

Galatians 3:9



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10 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them.”

11 Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, “The righteous man shall live by faith.” [Remember hearing that before?]

12 However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.”



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In 3:10–14 Paul addresses the Judaizers teaching that the law was a means of justification. But Paul shows that the law is a means of condemnation, and that it is the Lord Jesus who rescues us from its condemnation through the blood of His Cross.Verse ten. Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26. Instead of being blessed by their act of putting themselves under the law, men put themselves under a curse. The Judaizers maintained that their knowledge of the law entitled them to the blessings which were attached to the sons of Abraham.



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Our Lord said to representatives of this same system: “Ye are constantly searching the scriptures; and in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me. And ye will not come to Me that ye might have life” (John 5:39, 40). This was the sin of Israel, ignoring the righteousness of God, Christ, and going about to establish its own righteousness (Rom. 10:1–4).



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Paul argues that on the contrary, Israel has by its attempt to be justified by the law, entailed the curse of the broken law, for no man could keep the law. This curse is not merely the wrath of God in the form of the final banishment of the sinner from His presence, with all the sorrow and misery which that includes, but represent also a present condition of alienation from God caused by a violation of His law. The word continueth is a figurative expression. It speaks of the law as a prescribed district or domain in which one remains or out of which one goes.



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Galatians 3:10 Translation. For as many as are of the works of the law, are under curse. For it stands written, Cursed is every one who is not remaining constantly in all things which stand written in the book of the law in order to do them.

Galatians 3:10



October 17, 2010

Oct 17-9:20 AM

Documents

THD-011 and 012 Resuming our Galatians 2002 · PDF fileTHD-011 and 012 Resuming our Galatians 2002 Study ... our tutor to lead us to Christ, ... you will abide in my